Beautiful Sunrise
by tubeatoothpaste
Summary: A new girl, Melody moves to Alexandria and starts going to T.C Williams High. At first, she becomes very close friends with Alan, but are they more than friends? And what about Sunshine, who has his eye on Melody? How will it all end up?
1. Default Chapter

disclaimer: I don't own any of the character excpet for Melody.

This happens during the football season featured in Remember the Titans.

Chapter 1

"Hey! Alan, wait up!"

Alan Bosley turned when he heard his name called out. He searched the crowded hallway behind him until he saw Gary fighting to get through people towards him.

"Yeah?" Alan said as Gary came up next to him.

"Look, I need a favor." Gary said, slowly, pressing his lips together afterwards.   
Alan sighed, everyone on the team always asked him for favors because he couldn't bear to say no.

In reply to Gary, Alan simply tossed him a look that said, Well what is it?

Gary explained, "My friend just moved here from Kentucky, and she don't know nobody. I looked at your schedule, and it matches up the best with hers. Only when you have math, she's got English, and when you have gym, she has home ec. Sunshine's gonna take her to English and Emma is gonna take her to home ec."

After he thought for a moment, Alan asked, "So you want me to be a tour guide for a girl I haven't even met?"

Garry thought for a moment and the nodded, "Yeah that's about right."

Alan threw up his hands in defeat, even the one holding his books, "All right. You got me."

"Great!" Gary grinned, "Thanks a lot!"

Gary turned around and motioned for a girl to come forward. The girl did and Gary introduced her as Melody.

"Hi, I'm Alan," Alan shook her hand, "Nice to meet you."

"Well nice to meet you too." She answered, with a touch of a southern accent.

Alan looked her over as Gary told her a few last minute things. She was a little short, which made him smile, and she had long wavy dark brown hair. Her face was a little round, in a cute way. He noticed that her incredibly green eyes were the same color as her skirt. She had on a white sweater and was carrying her books. She's not a looker. Alan decided, She looks sweet, but not like a heartbreaker. T

he bell rang, interrupting Alan's thoughts and Gary looked up anxiously,

"I have to go, my first class is on the other side of school. See you!"

He started running down the hall. He turned and called over his shoulder, "And thanks a lot Alan!"

"Come on," Alan said, pushing past people, "It's History first, right?"

"Yeah," Melody nodded, following close behind him.

They came up to the door to the classroom and were just about to enter when Alan heard a yell from across the hall.

"Alan!" he turned around and saw Petey, the only person who talked that loud.

"Yes?" Alan asked impatiently as students pushed past him and Melody into the classroom.

"Who is that pretty young lady you got on your arm?" Petey asked.

"Ignore him." Alan told Melody in a low voice, then he yelled back, "It's Gary's friend Melody!"

Petey nodded, "Oh sure boy, oh sure!"

Alan shook his head at Petey's ridiculousness and swung it open to enter. When he did, the students in the class looked up to see who it was, and then back down. Alan slid into a seat in the fifth row, and motioned for Melody to sit in the seat next to him.

"You don't have to sit with me, you know," she said quietly.

"Oh, no, that's okay. I want to sit by you." Alan answered, mostly to make her feel better, she looked upset.

"Well, thanks for showing me around anyway," Melody said.

"It's no problem," he smiled weakly. Melody pulled out a notebook from her bag and put it on her desk.

"Whoa, did you make that?" Alan asked, staring at her notebook. On the cover, she had made a great mixture of magazine clips to form a cover. She also had spelled out the words "Melody Clover History'. Melody nodded.

"That's awesome!" Alan marveled, staring at it. The colors all blended together and it looked very cool.

"Thanks," she said shyly.

The second bell rang and the teacher, Mr. Anderson walked in and started to talk.

"We're just learning about the Civil War," Alan whispered to Melody. She nodded, opening her notebook to take notes. Alan didn't say anything else after that and he let the class pass, taking a few notes.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Shut up Petey!" Gary and Julius chorused, laughing as Petey grinned widely.

"Hey, Alan come over here!" Gary yelled from the table where he was sitting.

It was lunchtime in the cafeteria and it was very loud. Alan finally spotted them and walked over, setting down his lunch tray.

"Hey, where's Melody?" Gary asked when Alan had sat down at the crowded table.

"Sunshine has her." He answered.

"Sunshine's got another girl?" Blue asked, not processing it all.

"No she's a family friend of mine, Melody. She just moved here," Gary explained, still waving at them to come over.

"Who did?" Rev asked as he and Louie sat down with them.

"Melody. She's gonna sit with us, all right?" Gary said again. The team nodded, watching the door for Sunshine.

"So, how did you and Melody make out today?" Gary asked in a low voice to Alan.

"You met her today and you already made out with her?" Petey asked in his loud, somewhat annoying voice. "

No!" Alan said, appalled at the idea.

"Look at them innocent boy eyes." Julius laughed, "That boy wouldn't make out with a girl until they was married."

The table laughed, even Alan, as a little color mounted onto his cheeks.

"Sunshine!' Petey called, as the tall blonde boy entered the room, Melody in tow. Both were carrying trays. Blue watched and then shook his head in disbelief and when Ronnie sat down he said,

"As you pass by, all the girls look up and sigh." Ronnie grinned sheepishly, as if to say, What can I do? Gary turned to Melody,

"Hey, how are you doing?"

Melody smiled, "Great."

Petey took the tray from her, like a gentleman would. "You can come sit by me."

Sunshine reached over and grabbed Melody's tray back, he looked down at Melody, "Don't listen to him, he's got a new girl every other week."

Melody laughed, "I could've guessed."

Petey grinned as the rest of the guys laughed and patted him on the back. Gary was deep in conversation with Julius so Ronnie took the liberty of 'talking care' of Melody.

"Why don't you go sit over there by Alan," Ronnie said. Melody put her tray next to his and started to eat her lunch. "

Yeah, you won't get no sass from Alan!" Blue commented, "He don't know how to sass a girl."

Alan grinned good-naturedly and looked up from his plate. He noticed that Gary wasn't watching his tray. Alan reached his arm over the table and slowly put it on Gary's tray. When his hand closed around the pudding bowl, he pulled it away. Gary, without looking away from Julius's face, slammed his hand down on Alan's wrist. The teenagers laughed, and Alan pulled his hand away dejectedly.

"Not done yet," He grinned at Rev, sitting across from him. He stood up and walked into the kitchen.

Melody twisted to see him go, "Where's he going?" she asked.

"To go be nice to the lunch lady and get another pudding." Rev explained to her. "He does it all the time,"

Sure enough, in a few minutes, Alan returned with a pudding in his hand.

"You know," Blue said slowly, "Alan may not sass a girl, but he sure can coax a lady."

This comment erupted laughter from among the teenagers. Alan smiled and spooned some of the dessert he acquired into his mouth.

"Now what I'm wondering," Petey said, "Is how Alan there can eat so much pudding and still be the team's toothpick."

Alan just smiled again, as if in secrecy.

"I think that maybe, he runs it all off trying to catch up to me," Petey said.

"Petey," Alan said, "I never chase you. If you're in, I'm not."

"Yeah Petey!" Louie said, hitting him lightly on the shoulder. Petey returned, "I know, but still, the joke was good right?"

Alan smiled as he went to throw his lunch away. "See you guys at practice!"

It wasn't until he was out in the hall that Alan realized he had forgotten Melody. He turned sharply on his heel and saw Melody stopped, watching him carefully. Wonder showed in his deep blue eyes.

Melody laughed, "I don't need to be put on a leash. I can follow."

Alan smiled, "Well, you never know..." he ran his hand through his golden hair, scratching the back of his neck. Together, they started off for their class.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Alan winced as he collided hard with Julius. His head spun for a second and then he was okay. He stood up, ready.

"Again!" Coach Yoast bellowed, blowing his whistle.

The defense groaned, and then, again, one line of guys charged and the other stood, waiting to tackle. Alan jumped into Julius and managed to bring him down to the ground.

"Switch!" Yoast yelled.

This time, Alan, and the line of other guys he was with traded places with their partners. They stood about 20 yards apart, and when Alan heard the whistle, he hurtled forwards, flying towards Julius. He tried to run faster than Julius, and for a while, he succeeded, but then, he felt something start to pull in his leg. He just had to slow down, or else he would pull something again. With a crunching sound, Alan was pulled to the ground.

When Julius got off of him, he was upset to notice that he had been tackled the closest to where they started running. He was slower than the rest of the team. Julius gave him his hand and pulled him up. Obviously, he could see the disappointment in Alan's eyes because he said:

"Hey, don't worry about it man. I'm just a fast runner, besides, it's the end of practice." Alan smiled back weakly, but he still wasn't convinced.

"Everybody has an off day. You'll be better tomorrow," Julius told him as he slapped his shoulder encouragingly.

Alan grinned on the outside, but inside he felt bad, real bad.

"Hey, you're right Julius. Thanks!" He yelled after him, not wanting to sound ungrateful.

Julius just waved as he headed towards the locker room. Alan removed his helmet and then started walking, dejectedly after him.

"Hey Alan!" Coach Yoast yelled after him.

Alan sighed. Here we go, the old "You're not playing so hard", speech. He got it the most out of anyone on the team. He was good, but some days he just couldn't be the best. Coach Yoast jogged up to him and said,

"Son, I noticed you haven't been pushing it as hard as you can on that leg." He looked at Alan's face as if to verify.

"Well, Coach, if I push it, my leg still hurts." Alan reminded him, thinking of the leg he pulled over the summer, before camp.

"Okay." He said, as if considering the ides, "Okay, well I've got an idea for you. You know Gary's friend Melody, new here?"

Alan nodded, What did she have to do with anything?

"Gary told me her older brother did a lot of running and she knows all these stretches and such that you can do." A

lan nodded, "Okay. Thanks Coach."

He jogged off the field, heading to the locker room. He showered and changed and when he was ready to leave, he saw Blue, Rev and Louie singing a song by The Temptations. Alan laughed and headed out the door, holding his bags.

"Hey! Alan, wait!" He recognized Ronnie's voice, even from a distance. He stopped and waited, turning to watch Ronnie coming over.

"Hey," Ronnie panted, "What did you think about that girl Melody?"

"I think she was cool, I guess," Alan said as they started walking through the pathway in the stands.

"I liked her," Ronnie said, "She's smart and she actually talks about stuff. Not like all those other girls."

Alan nodded, "Yeah."

He wondered if Ronnie was going to ask Melody to go steady, after a while of course. Ronnie could have any girl he wanted, they all adored him. The boys had come to the place where two roads met. Alan took off down one and Ronnie down the other.

"See you tomorrow Sunshine!" Alan yelled.

"Yeah!" Ronnie yelled back, walking away.

(a/n: thank you soo much beautyqueen321! i love getting reviews! and i will update a lot, because i already have most of it written... actually i may have all of it written. its just the task of posting it all that takes a lot of time! thanks thou!)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Alan came home and immediately went up stairs to listen to his music and do his loads of homework. He wasn't more than halfway up the stairs before his father said,

"Alan, come here son."

Alan turned around slowly and walked down the stairs into his father's study.

"Yeah Dad?" he said, looking at the round, gray-haired man sitting behind his desk.

"I watched you at practice today," He commented, his face showing no sign of emotion.

Alan winced. He knew the lecture was coming. This had been a bad practice, he felt bad enough already, and now, he was going to get yelled at.

"You weren't playing well."

"Aww Dad," Alan groaned, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Now I understand that you're hurt..." Fred Bosley returned, "And I'm sorry you are, but you aren't playing as well as you can and instead of you starting that dirty Negro is-"

"Dad! Petey is better than me!" Alan burst out, "And he is not a dirty..." Alan trailed off, not wanting to finish his sentence.

"It's all because of that Coach Boone," Fred Bosley continued, ignoring his son.

Alan slammed his hands down on his father's desk. Fred Bosley looked up in shock.

"Dad, I will admit that I used to think that Coach Boone wasn't good but he brought us together at camp. We're a team now and it doesn't matter what color our skin is. Why can't you see that?"

Fred Bosley's face grew red and the anger mounted up in him.

"I don't want you to play with them god damn colored kids! Much less be friends with them." He bellowed, yelling at his son.

"Dad, they're my friends," he said, "And I'm sorry, but I like hanging out with them."

He smiled somewhat apologetically and then left the room, shrugging as he did so.

He walked up to his room, dragging his books and football equipment. Once in his room, he flipped through his records until he found one of his Beatles ones. He put it on the phonograph and smiled as it started to play. He grinned and bobbed his head to the music, to the song he knew so well. He pulled out his math books and started to do his homework.

When he was on question number 36, about halfway done, the phone rang. His dad answered it.

"Alan, the phone is for you, son," Fred Bosley called after a moment.

"Okay," Alan walked into the hall and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Hey Alan," Gary said.

"Oh hey Gary. What's up?" he asked, wondering why Gary was calling him.

"Oh you know how you're going to get together with Melody to work on your hamstrings or something?

"Yeah," Alan nodded, marveling, "How did you know that?"

"Well, Coach called her and she called me," Gary explained, "Anyway, um how's after practice almost everyday?"

Alan shifted his weight from foot to foot, trying to think about what he did after practice. Only homework and dinner filled his mind but they could be done later.

"Umm, sounds good." He said, slowly.

"Cool. See you tomorrow," Gary said.

"Uh, yeah, bye."

Alan looked up as he put down the phone. He saw his reflection in the mirror and ran his hand through his hair. He was still a little confused, and he was surprised to notice that his eyes showed confusion. Did they give away all his feelings? He shrugged and went back to doing his homework.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"All right, Alan, go stretch out with Melody." Coach Boone commanded, motioning towards where the locker room was. A

lan jogged off the field, taking his helmet off. It had been a few days since Coach Yoast had told Alan he would be working with Melody, and he had gotten to know her a little better in class. She was nice and okay to be with.

"Hey," he said between breaths as he ran up to Melody who was waiting on the sidelines.

"Hey," she said. After a little break of silence, she continued quietly, "Um, Coach told me you had an injured hamstring."

"Yeah," he nodded, watching her, "I, uh, pulled it over the summer."

"I know how much that hurts," she said, "It has happened to me before."

Alan nodded, "Yeah, but it doesn't hurt too much lately."

Melody nodded, as if to say, that's good. "Okay, um, you can take off all your football gear," She told him.

"Umm, okay," he said and started peeling off his jersey. Then, he took off the shoulder pads and rolled up the bottom of his pants to take out the pads there. When he pulled them out, he was in his white pants, now very dirty and white shirt, a little damp with sweat.

"Okay, this is a really important stretch that you need to do all the time. Except it takes two people to do it." Melody explained, looking at him slowly.

"All right." Alan said, "So what do I do?"

"Um, get down on the ground, lie down," she told him. A

lan did as she asked, wondering what he was supposed to do.

"Now put up your foot,"

Alan did as Melody told him, and she grabbed his ankle. She bent down, still holding his foot.

"Now, unbend your knee," Melody reached down and pushed his knee straight.

"Okay, I'm going to push your leg as far as I can before you tell me to stop." Melody pushed his ankle up and forward in small increments, until Alan could feel the back of his left leg stretching, a lot. He grunted a little.

"Oh, did I stretch it too much?" Melody asked, concern in her voice.

"No," he forced himself to say, "No, it's good."

He gritted his teeth together as the muscles in his leg expanded.

Melody saw his face, "I don't want you to push it real hard today," she said, watching his face for his reaction.

"Okay," he nodded, smiling weakly at her.

Alan spent the afternoon learning new stretches, and trying to remember them all. Some he had to stand, some to sit, and even a few where he had to lean on something in order to stay upright.

"Think of it like this really big test," she said, "The more you think about the content, the better you'll do," Melody suggested.

Alan laughed, "Does everything have to be related to school?"

Melody returned the laugh, "How about, it's a really big ice cream sundae. With hot fudge, whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry on top."

Alan looked up from touching his toes, "Now that is just making me hungry."

Melody smiled, "The more you have of the sundae, the better you feel right?"

"Right. Unless you eat too much and then you feel sick," Alan added.

"Exactly!" Melody grinned, "You get it! It's good to stretch a lot, but if you stretch a muscle too much, you end up worse off then you were before you stretched."

"Now every time I stretch, I'm going to want an ice cream sundae," Alan commented.

Melody smiled and walked over to a bench to pull a piece of paper out of a notebook. Alan watched her walk away. He liked her, as a friend that is. She was nice and funny, and very creative. He had never really had girls that were just friends, not since grade school, but he liked her like that. And just like that. He wouldn't get in the way of Sunshine and a girl he liked. Sunshine would probably win anyway. Besides, Sunshine was a lot stronger than he was.

"Okay," Melody came back with a sheet of paper in her hand. "Do these stretches every day. Like before you go to bed and, if you have time, when you wake up."

"What happens if I don't?" Alan asked, not to be trouble, but just wondering.

"I'll be able to tell when I stretch your hamstrings the next day. It'll show," Melody answered slyly. "So you better do them."

Alan grinned, "Yes m'am," he saluted her and stood up.

Melody gave him a playful shove in the shoulder. "You are one interesting person Alan." She smiled. She looked at him for a second,

"Hey, do you want to go get an ice cream? Talking about them made me hungry."

Alan smiled, "Yeah. Sounds good. Just let me go shower first."

Alan emerged from the locker room. Closing the door tightly behind him. He saw Melody, waiting for him off to the side of the field. When he got to her, they set off towards town. They were heading for Howard's Drug Store. The walk there was nice, and they talked about a lot of different things.

Alan learned that Melody played the piano, and had a lot of brothers and sisters. She had named them all, but he couldn't remember any. Alan had confessed to her about always wanting a twin sister and she, amazingly, had said that she always wanted a twin brother. Laughing, they had agreed they should be each other's twins.

"So what are you going to get?" Alan asked Melody as they sat down together on the stools at the counter.

"Oh, I was thinking an ice cream sundae with hot fudge, whipped cream and sprinkles and cherry on top," she smiled.

Alan smiled right back at her, "I was thinking the same thing." He grinned wider.

"I wonder where we ever got that idea?" Melody giggled, shaking her head at his goofy grin.

After they had eaten their sundaes and walked over to the cashier to pay, Alan pull his wallet out of the back pocket of his faded blue jeans. When he took out a five-dollar bill, Melody stopped him.

"Alan," she said, "Don't spend your money on me. I mean, it's not like I'm a date." She grinned at him, "Spend it on your next girlfriend." A

lan smiled, "Okay."

They each paid a few dollars, keeping the amount even. After that, Alan walked her halfway home and then each turned their separate ways.

"See you tomorrow Alan!" Melody called as she walked down the street.

"Yeah! Bye!" Alan yelled in return.

"Hey, Sunshine, what are you doin' here?" Ronnie turned from watching the two figures on the sidelines of the football field when he heard the familiar voice of Gary. He was leaning on the railing of the stands, watching Alan and Melody.

"I should ask you the same question." Ronnie commented, not wanting to reveal why he was there.

"Well I forgot my math book in the locker room," Gary said, "But why are you here?"

Before Ronnie could answer, Gary looked out on the field and saw the two figures.

"Hey, whose that out there?" He squinted as he leaned on the railing next to Ronnie.

"Well that's Alan, but who's the girl?"

Then he remembered that Alan was stretching, "Oh it's Melody right?"

Ronnie nodded.

Gary thought for a minute or two. "So is that why you're here?" He asked slyly, almost laughing, "You're sweet on Melody?"

Ronnie shrugged, still watching as Alan and Melody stood close together, bending over. A gust of wind blew by and Melody straightened up to hold her skirt down, to the extreme amusement of Alan.

"Jesus, Sunshine, she's only been here a week," Gary muttered.

"I know," Ronnie answered. "But I just like her."

Gary patted his shoulder, "Don't let Alan and her get to you, okay man?"

He turned and started to walk way but before he had taken a few steps, Ronnie asked.

"Does he like her?"

Gary turned, thinking, "No. Alan don't like her."

Gary had said that just on a hunch, and he hoped to God it wasn't true. The last thing they needed this season was rivalry between the teammates.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Alan ran a comb through his hair, checking his reflection from all angles. He smiled, satisfied with the way it looked. He thundered down the stairs to his front door where he had left his school things. He grabbed his books and started heading out the door when he heard his dad call him.

"Yeah Dad?" he asked, hand on the doorknob.

"Did you have breakfast, son?"

"Oh yeah. No I didn't." Alan came into the kitchen, setting his bag down on a chair. He picked up and apple. "How's this?"

Fred Bosley gave his son a funny look, raising one eyebrow.

"Okay, I know it's not much but I'm sort of running late and I promised I would meet Ronnie at the corner." Alan explained, hesitating before leaving the room.

"All right." He sighed.

Alan hustled out of the room and had opened the door.

"Lunch?" Fred called after him.

Alan skidded to a stop and ran back in, grabbing the paper bag off of the counter. "Thanks!" he said before he flew out the door.

With his bag falling off of his shoulder and his apple and lunch in hand, he streaked up the street, running like crazy for the corner.

"Sunshine!" he yelled after a golden blonde figure walking towards the school. The teenager turned and waited.

"Man, where were you?" he asked when Alan had caught up with him, "I was waiting forever."

"I know, I know. I woke up late and then I had to get breakfast. On the go," he explained as he raised his apple.

Ronnie laughed. They walked most of the way to school in silence. Alan could sense that something was bothering Ronnie but he figured it might have been when he had completely missed a throw the previous day. When they came to the school doors, Ronnie went one way, and Alan the other, both waving goodbye. Alan walked up to his locker, juggling books, his lunch, and his apple.

"Need some help?" a familiar voice asked.

"Could you?" Alan said as he dumped all his books and lunch into Melody's arms. He handed her the apple and she just waited as he jiggled his lock until it opened.

"You just wiggle yours and it opens?" She asked in astonishment.

"Yup, it's broken," Alan said as he pulled out his math books.

"Aren't you worried someone might steal something?" Melody asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"Ain't got nothing worth stealing," he answered simply as he turned to get his books, "Besides, only you and me know it's broken."

Melody smiled, "Well what if I go to the criminals?"

"Then," Alan said, his face grave, "you will be an accessory to robbery."

Melody giggled, "Okay Alan. But how would you prove it was me?"

"I would just know." Alan said as they walked to the history room.

"Okay, if you say so." Melody said as the bell rang.

"Come on Melody," Ronnie picked up Melody's books and started down the hall.

"Hey, you don't have to do that," she said, walking behind him.

"Oh, I don't mind," Ronnie said as he shook his head a little.

A group of girls they passed sighed. Melody rolled her eyes. Sure Ronnie was nice and absolutely gorgeous, but still... that sighing could drive someone insane.

"Will you sit with me at lunch?" Ronnie asked as he opened the door for her.

"Sure," Melody smiled, wondering why Ronnie was being so nice all of a sudden. When they came to where Ronnie's locker was, he offered to keep her books in his locker until after lunch.

"Oh, that's real nice of you," she said, "but my money is in my locker."

Ronnie was leaning up against the locker, looking down at her. His eyes bored into her,

"No, I'll pay for your lunch."

Suddenly, everything finally caught up with her. Carrying her books, keeping them in his locker, buying her lunch. Ronnie wanted her to be his girl! Melody looked up at him, amazed. He could have any girl in the school and he wanted to be with her? She smiled up at him.

"Thanks Ronnie," she said, and he shrugged and they started walking to the cafeteria.

They went through the lunch line and Ronnie carried out his tray and hers. Melody followed, feeling like a million bucks. Instead of sitting with the team, like she had expected, Ronnie led her to a table by themselves. The football team turned to whisper to each other at this.

"Way to go Sunshine!" Petey yelled.

Ronnie laughed, "Yeah, whatever Petey."

Ronnie turned his attention away from the team to Melody. "What are you doing this Friday?" he asked her.

"Nothing," Melody answered, hoping he was doing what she thought he was doing. "

Would you want to go out to dinner with me?" Ronnie asked, watching her face for a reaction.

"Sure. I'd love to," Melody beamed. Gosh he was gorgeous. She couldn't help but think of the wonderful things this was going to bring.

"Great," Ronnie smiled and put a fork into his spaghetti, "I'll pick you up at eight."

"Can't wait," Melody returned watching him eat.

She glowed inside, wishing it was already Friday.

"So wait, is he asking her out?" Petey asked in a whisper surprisingly.

"I don't know Petey. If you would get your dog gone head out of my way, maybe I could see." Gary said, leaning over to try to catch the conversation from the other table.

"Alan!" Julius said, looking down the table for the thin boy. "Go pull the pudding trick."

Alan grinned, "Of course," he smiled.

He stood up and walked over to the table where Ronnie and Melody were deep in conversation. He heard Melody say "can't wait." He stood next to their table for a long time and neither one noticed him.

"-what kind of dinner do you want?" Ronnie asked her.   
  
Melody answered with "umm... anything."

Alan cleared his throat and they looked up.

"Sunshine, don't mean to interrupt, but can I have your pudding?" Alan asked courteously, winking at him. Sunshine groaned, handed Alan his pudding and called across the cafeteria.

"Yes, I asked her out. Okay?"

The team whooped, shouting together,   
"All right Sunshine!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Alan walked off the field to where Melody was waiting, already removing his helmet and jersey.

Two weeks had passed since Sunshine started going out with Melody. The Titans had won their first game.

"So how's everything with you and Sunshine?" he asked her, taking the pads out of his pants again.

Melody smiled, "Fine, except the whole school knows now."

Alan laughed, the whole school did know, and he thought it was the greatest thing.

"So I'll bet you're the schools most hated girl," he said, as he sat down on the ground. He leaned back and put his foot up for Melody to hold.

"What?" she looked at him, confused. She pushed his foot forward.

"I mean, by... Ow! Ow, that's good enough," Alan told her, through gritted teeth.

"Oh, sorry! I forgot," Melody's lips went down in one corner, showing her agitation.

"It's okay," Alan gasped, holding the back of his leg. "Just put it down more."

Melody nodded and didn't put as much pressure on his leg. Alan sighed, that was much better. He stretched the rest of that leg and then switched, holding up the other for Melody to hold.

"I meant that Ronnie's got so many girls admiring him, they must all hate you now." Alan finished what he had been saying.

"Ow!" he moaned again, "What was that for?"

Melody had pushed his leg forward more than he was ready for.

"You really make a girl feel better about who she's dating," Melody told him. Alan grinned impishly.

"Well, you should know the facts," Alan pointed out, taking the hand that Melody offered him to help him up.

Julius plowed right into Ronnie.

"Sunshine? Where are you man?" Julius asked, stopping the game.

Some of the guys had stuck around after practice to play some less pressured football and Ronnie was just not paying attention.

"Yeah, why are you spacing?" Blue asked, "You know that's Alan's job."

He laughed and so did everyone else.

"Hello, Sunshine, what's up?" Julius asked again.

He waved his hands in front of his face. Ronnie just pointed off at the sidelines. Melody had just pulled Alan off the ground and was standing next to him, bending over, showing him how to stretch. Alan didn't get it right and Melody had to change his position, moving his hands to the back of his legs. Ronnie squinted angrily.

"Hey, Sunshine, man, don't worry 'bout it. They just stretching," Julius said, trying to turn the big teenager around.

"You don't need to do that to stretch," Ronnie growled starting to walk over to them.

"Alan ain't trying to steal your girl, man," Gary called after him. R

onnie stopped in his track and turned around, coming back to the game,

"Yeah, Alan would never do that." He smiled. "Come on boys, let's play."

Melody laughed, "No, Alan. Can you get any of these right?" She took his leg, stuck it out and folded it in so that the calf was touching the thigh. "Good."

"It's not my fault!" Alan protested, "You make the stretches to darn weird." He shifted his elbow onto his leg, so he could rest his head on it.

"Besides," a deep voice cut in, "He's Alan, he's always wrong."

"Hi Ronnie," Melody said, standing up to give him a kiss on the cheek. "How was your practice?"

"Good," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Alan looked up, "Am I done?" He watched Melody slowly come back to reality.

"Oh. Ummm, no, you have to do the one we did first again," she told him. Alan sighed and leaned back against the ground, foot in the air. Melody pushed it forward, until he grunted for her to stop.

"Good," Melody commented, "See, you're better than you were earlier." Alan noticed that Ronnie bit his lip and looked like he was trying to control something. Suddenly, Alan wondered if it bothered Ronnie that Melody stretched with him.

"Hey Sunshine," he said, getting Ronnie's attention. "Didn't you pull a muscle at practice a few weeks ago?"

Ronnie thought for a moment and then said, "Yeah but what does that have to do with anything?"

Alan nodded his head towards Melody, his hair flicking into his face. "Well maybe Melody can help you stretch it out after practice."

Sunshine nodded, "Great idea Alan!" He helped him up from the ground, whispering, "Man, you know everything."

Alan grinned, "I thought I was always wrong?"

"Oh you know what I meant!" Ronnie laughed, hitting him lightly on the head.

"See you around guys," Alan said, waving over his shoulder as he headed towards the locker room.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

After that, Ronnie stretched with Melody and Alan nearly everyday, to Melody's pleasure. He took Melody out every chance he had and she came to every game. She complimented everyone on their skills, and the team got used to having her around a lot.

"Hey!" Melody called after Alan, who was walking down the hall.

"Wait up!"

"Hey," Alan answered, "why aren't you walking with Ronnie?"

"He's in the bathroom," she answered.

"Oh," Alan said, "Are you going to sit with us then?" Alan closed his locker and with his lunch, started walking towards the cafeteria.

"I guess, at least until he comes back," Melody smiled.

"How in the heck to you find so much to talk about to him?" Alan asked, "All you guys ever do is talk. I know you talk on the phone all the time because Ronnie told me." He looked at her, waiting for her to answer. "

Well, I don't know exactly what we talk about. We just... talk," She laughed. "I don't know how to explain it." She looked up and he was smiling like he was holding back laughter. "Shut up!" she said, hitting him lightly in the arm, "Don't make fun of me." "

I'm not!" He assured her, putting up his hands to guard him from her tiny slaps. They both got their lunches and sat down at the table with the team. They were sitting a little off from the others, without realizing it.

"Jeez!" Petey announced, "With how much Alan and Melody are together, they could be going out!" Alan and Melody both laughed at the absurd idea.

"Oh yeah," Melody smiled, "You know that Alan just makes me get weak in the knees."

Alan laughed loudly. "Totally, I am just dying to take Melody out for a candlelight dinner for two. I really want to steal her from Sunshine."

Alan finished his sentence and everyone was quiet. Alan felt a strong and forceful hand lay down on his shoulder. The fingers started prodding into his shoulder.

"Can I talk to you for a second Alan," Ronnie said evenly, though it sounded forced and mad.

Julius clapped him on the shoulder, "Nice knowing you man."

Alan gulped and stood up, following Ronnie out into the hall.

"What did you say about my girl?" Ronnie asked, pushing Alan against the wall.

"Sunshine, calm down. I was just kidding," Alan gulped, getting worried. Ronnie looked mad, his eyes were on fire, ready to strangle him.

"What did you say?" Ronnie asked, his face screwing up in his anger.

"I just said that I..." Alan stopped. He had seen Melody run around the corner. She ran up behind Ronnie.

"Can I talk to you?" she asked sweetly.

"Did you hear what he said?" Ronnie asked her, his hands not leaving Alan's shoulders.

"Yes, Ronnie he was just kidding." Melody explained, her mouth going down in the corners again. She shot Alan a worried look.

"Why would he even joke about something like that?" Ronnie asked her, his voice quivering in anger.

"Because," Melody looked down at her shoes trying to decide whether to say this or not. Alan hoped she would because his shoulders hurt, Ronnie was strong. "Because I did it first," Melody said slowly, looking back up at Ronnie.

"Why?" Ronnie asked, his hands dropping from Alan. Alan rubbed his shoulder, very glad to be released.

"We were just kidding Ron!" she called as he walked down the hall away from them. Melody looked pained at him walking away. She looked to Alan, helplessly.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Alan said, "Go after him!"

Melody smiled at this and ran off in Ronnie's wake.

"Oof!" Alan puffed when Ronnie ran with all his strength into him.

"Ronnie Bass!" Coach Boone yelled, "You know you're not supposed to tackle now, we're running a new play! You're the QB, remember?!"

Ronnie gave Alan a dangerous look. Alan returned Ronnie's cool glare with one of pure terror. Gary laughed slapping Alan's back.

"Relax Alan, he ain't gonna get you." Gary reassured him.

"Yeah, right." Alan snorted, "He hates me! I've got bruises to prove it too."

Gary looked over at Ronnie, watching carefully. "Yeah," he said, "He does look pretty mad doesn't he?"

Alan nodded and gulped at the same time.

"Don't worry, he won't beat you up," Gary said again, "He's still you're friend."

Alan shook his head, "No he's not!" I wish he was, but he's not. He thought.

"Come on boys!" Coach Yoast yelled, calling Gary and Alan back to the game.

"I don't know, man. Things just don't feel right with you and Ronnie glaring at each other all day," Julius said as he walked off the football field with Alan and Gary to the locker room.

"He's the one doing all the glaring!" Alan protested, "I did nothing to make him mad except make a joke."

"Yeah well Sunshine didn't like that very much," Julius pointed out.

"I noticed," Alan muttered.

Just then, Ronnie pushed between Alan and Gary, shoving Alan as he walked by. Because he was surprised, Alan didn't keep his balance and he feel to the ground. Gary and Julius stared after Ronnie for a moment. Ronnie shook his head defiantly and turned around to sneer at Alan on the ground. Gary and Julius each gave Alan a hand to help him up.

They went into the locker room in silence; everything in the room was quiet and filled with tension. Gary and Julius changed by their lockers, which were next to each other. Alan was across the way, looking very gloomy.

"Alan," Gary said quietly, sitting on the bench near his locker after Julius had walked away.

"Yeah?" Alan asked, pulling his white tee-shirt down over his head.

"Um, I was thinking. I haven't been that great a friend have I?"

Alan stopped buttoning his over shirt to look up at him, "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, now Julius is my best friend. I knew you longer." Gary looked at his feet as he talked. "And before Julius it was Ray, and you were always there, on the sidelines." Alan opened his mouth to say something but Gary continued, "I've known you since we were both in diapers. That's the longest I ever knew anybody, but I always leave you out in the cold." Gary looked up when he finished.

"Look, Gary, so we aren't best friends? What does that have to do with anything?" Alan asked, choosing his words carefully. "I mean, you're a good friend, real good, and you always tried to include me." Alan shrugged, "I guess I just don't get real close friends. You know?"

Gary patted his shoulder, "You'll find someone that's your best friend."

Gary stood up to leave, and walked to the door, carrying his books.

"I think Ronnie was my best friend." Alan said out loud to himself, sinking to the bench.

Gary, who hadn't left the room yet, paused when he heard that. Then he walked on, not wanting to let Alan know he had heard.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Three weeks later...

"Melody, what's wrong?" Alan asked when he saw the small girl standing in a corner, with her back to the hallway.

"Oh, Alan, I didn't see you." She sniffed, wiping her eyes with her finger.

"Why are you crying?" He questioned her, looking down at her. He realized he had grown a few inches in the past few weeks. He could only tell things like that with people shorter than him. And that was only a very few people.

"Umm," Melody didn't answer, avoiding meeting Alan's eyes.

"Tell me please." Alan commanded her, touching her arm gently. Melody looked at the spot where he had touched her for a minute and then she looked up at him.

"Ronnie and I..." She trailed off, looking at the stream of people going bye.

_Oh no!_ Alan thought, _they had a fight or something_.

"We broke up." She said simply.

Alan's eyes widened in wonder. He had considered them the perfect couple. He had been responsible for bringing them together and he felt responsible that they had broken up.

"He doesn't feel anything for me anymore." Melody whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "After 5 weeks he doesn't like me very much."

Alan wondered, _Do you still like him?_

"I don't know Alan," she said, still distracted.

"What? Did I say that?" Alan asked, _I didn't think I had_.

"No." Melody answered.

Alan looked at her suspiciously. "Well then how...?" he waited for her to answer.

"Your face gives away how you feel all the time." She responded, looking up at him.

"Oh," Alan said, slightly subdued. Did It really? Could you always see how he felt?

"So if I wanted to ask a girl out, you think I could just look at her and she'd know the time and place?" Alan joked, then wished he hadn't. "Sorry..." he started to say but stopped when Melody started laughing.

"Thanks Alan," she said when she had finished laughing, "You can always make me laugh."

Alan smiled back, "No problem."

Melody smiled and then wandered down the hall. Alan checked his watch. It was 3:14. He was late for practice!

"Alan!" Coach Boone yelled, "Decided to join us have you?" Alan finished running the remainder of the field over,

"Sorry, I didn't realize what time it was." After he finished his sentence, he added, "Sir."

"Well, look at what time it is now." Coach Boone said, "And then, when you are done running a mile, tell me what time it is."

Alan nodded, starting around the field. When he had run a mile, he joined the defensive players doing up downs. After doing them for a very long time, the team brought it in, going in circles around Gary and Julius. Everyone breathed "Ha-ha ha-ha" moving their legs in time. He found himself standing next to Ronnie for the first time in a long time. Both stopped moving and looked at each other.

"I heard about you and Melody," Alan said slowly.

"Yeah. We decided it was over between us. We didn't really get along with each other." Ronnie sighed, taking his helmet off.

"Oh," Alan answered, "So when do you think you're going to start dating again?" He asked after a little break.

"Not for a while. I know that I will hate the next guy that dates Melody and I don't want her to hate anyone."

Ronnie explained, "We were together for a little over a month."

"5 weeks," Alan whispered before he could stop himself.

The rest of the team, exploded, jumping all over each other, banging helmets, basically going wild. Ronnie and Alan were still, talking to each other.

"How did you know that?" Ronnie asked with a little smile.

"I, um, talked to Melody earlier," Alan said slowly, following the other members of the team off the field.

"Hey, you know, don't be afraid to still be friends with her and stuff." Ronnie told Alan. "We both decided to break up. And I know she likes having you as a friend, a lot." Ronnie patted Alan's shoulder. They walked up to Melody together.

"Hey Alan. Hey Ronnie," Melody greeted them, courteously.

"Hey," Ronnie smiled, like they were just friends, and had only been friends. "You still have a few books in my locker."

Melody nodded, "Can I get them when Alan and I are done stretching?" Ronnie thought for a moment,

"Yeah. Look, here's my combination." Ronnie scribbled his combination on a piece of paper in the girl's notebook. "Just go in there tonight okay?"

Melody nodded again, "Thanks Ronnie."

"No problem," he smiled and walked away slowly.

"All right Alan," Melody said, turning to him, "Down on the ground, leg up."

"Alan, will you please come with me?" Melody asked as she helped him up from the ground where he had been stretching.

"But I really need to shower," he answered, waiting for her to leave.

"I can wait." She said. Then she continued in a low voice, "Honestly, I'm afraid of the school at night. Who knows what could be around every corner."

Alan had to stop himself from laughing, though he did smile, "You're afraid of the school?" he teased.

"Only at night," She reminded him. "Oh, okay, only at night."

He turned and jogged into the locker room where he would shower, but halfway there, he ran back to Melody.

"You're going to be freezing out here," he told her. It was only November, but at night, when the wind was blowing, it still got very cold. Melody just looked at him waiting for what he was going to say or do next.

"I would invite you into the locker room, but I'd get detention for a month." He thought for a second, "Hold on!" A

lan ran inside the locker room and to where he had put his clothes from that day. He found his letterman's jacket and ran back outside. "Here, wear this," he told her, handing it to her.

"Thanks Alan," she smiled. As Melody took the jacket and put it on, Alan realized what this was sometimes a symbol of. Sometimes, guys on the football team gave their jackets to their girlfriends to wear. Alan sighed, hoping no one would see Melody with his jacket on and get any ideas. Sunshine said he was going to hate the first guy who dated Melody again, and if there was a rumor going around that he was.... Alan gulped, hoping that was never going to happen.

Alan ran a comb through his wet hair, trying to keep the bangs from hanging down in his eyes. Unless he slicked it back, which looked absolutely horrible, his hair always did flop into his face, as it did now. Alan shrugged, he would live. He stuffed all his sweaty football equipment into a bag and took it home so he could wash it. Then, he grabbed his book bag and started out the locker room door. He remembered to twist the lock on the inside so that the door would be locked.

When he stepped outside, the cold wind hit him like he had just opened up the freezer. Melody was standing, facing away from him, staring out at the football field, obviously thinking. The wind was playing relentlessly with her hair and skirt, and she shivered into his jacket. Alan shrugged again, Melody could keep his jacket on, he wasn't that cold.

"Ready?" he asked when he was close to her.

"Yeah," Melody bent down to pick up her things, and then she realized that Alan had on no coat.

"Oh Alan, take your jacket back, I have one." She insisted, starting to remove his jacket.

"No, I'm fine." He told her, just as the cold wind whipped past him, making goose bumps rise on his skin.

"Are you sure?" She asked, her face concerned.

"Yeah, positive." He answered.

"You're a great friend Alan." She said suddenly. "A real great friend."

Alan smiled as they started walking towards the school together. He felt like telling her that she was one of his real good friends, but he couldn't figure out how. So instead, he just walked to the empty school with her.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Gary!" Melody called, sprinting down the hospital hall to where Gary was wheeling around in his new wheelchair.

Alan came behind more slowly, followed by Ronnie and Petey, Blue, Rev and Louie. When Alan saw Gary, reduced to a wheelchair, he sighed. That dumb Mac truck just had to hit him that night. Gary Bertier, the only All- American on T.C. William's football team, was now paralyzed from the waist down. Seeing Gary in the wheelchair, took away all the glory and excitement Alan had felt from the Titans being state champions. Gary's physical condition had changed, but he had not. He was still smiling, still looking exactly the way he had before the accident. But then, you looked down to his legs and you knew he had to be different. And yet, somehow, he was the same old Gary.

"Hey Melody," Gary said when Melody ran up to him. She bent over and gave him a huge hug.

"Oh my gosh Gary. You look great!" She smiled, a few tears welling up on her eyes.

Alan noticed that what she said was true, almost all of his cuts had healed, and he did look great. He was shinning with brilliance, like he had died and come back. This was Gary Bertier, nothing could keep him down for long.

"Same to you," he answered. Melody laughed, so glad he was there, and okay.

"Come here Rev!" Gary said, pointing at Gerry Harris. He walked slowly up to Gary, in his shy nature.

"Boy, you won that game for us!" Gary whooped, smacking him on the shoulder, "You ran so fast man! That was great!"

Rev smiled in gratitude, "Yeah, but don't forget about Ronnie."

"I was just getting to him!" Gary laughed, "Sunshine! You were awesome, man! You killed them!"

Ronnie laughed, "Yeah well I had to be Rev and make up for you not being there, it's pretty tough."

Gary smiled, wheeling around in his chair. He came over to Petey.

"Hey Petey, nice job on linebacker." Gary said, knowing it was enough praise to get to Petey's head.

"I know, I know! I'm gonna rule linebacker next year man."

Everyone laughed. Alan, thinking of how Petey was a lot better than him, sighed,

"You ruled it this year too."

Only Gary heard him. Gary patted Alan's shoulder, "Hey man, that's okay. You played a great season, just some games, you had off ones, and they needed Petey instead of you. That's all."

Alan smiled. That was Gary for you, always trying to protect him.

"Thanks Gary,"

"Hey man, that's what I'm here for!"

Suddenly, a small girl with crazy blonde hair came hurling down the hall. She threw herself into Gary's lap.

"Gary!" She yelled, hugging him tightly. Everyone laughed, especially Gary.

"Where's your dad?" Gary asked, when Sheryl had let go of his neck.

"He didn't take me. Julius did," Sheryl smiled, pointing down the hall. Julius walked slowly down the hall towards them.

"Superman!" he called, still coming at his own pace.

"I was starting to get worried you weren't coming." Gary said.

"You kidding?" Julius smiled, "I'm always there." Gary nodded, understanding, pulling more meaning out of the words than anyone else in the hall could.

"I know you are, man." S

uddenly, Gary started tickling Sheryl. She giggled and giggled. Alan remembered that Gary used to do this all the time to Sheryl on the football field. He would pick her up, turn her upside down and tickle her until... Alan stopped his train of thought. Until, she started to run away. Then, he would chase her. That he would never be able to do again. Sheryl jumped off of Gary and ran through the hall. After she had gone a few steps, she stopped and turned around, horror on her face.

"Oh Gary!" She cried, "I am so sorry!" She bit her lip and looked like she was holding back tears.

"For what?" Gary asked, grinning. "If you boys will clear out of my way..."

Alan stepped to the side of the hall with everyone else. Gary started wheeling slowly towards Sheryl. Sheryl's face fell. Melody, who was standing next to Alan, looked back at him, pain in her eyes. Alan could read her thoughts; It's not the same. Alan smiled wistfully back at her. Melody reached over and took his hand in her shaking one.

Then, to everyone's surprise, Gary started moving his arms really fast and he was moving quickly behind Sheryl. She started to run, shrieking like she used to do outside when Gary chased her. Everyone smiled and laughed on relief. Gary was the same guy they had known him to be. Melody smiled back at Alan and wiped her tears away.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"So you're going to go?" Alan asked Gary. He was walking around town, along with Julius. Gary wheeled beside them.

"Yeah, Emma and I decided we might as well go, just as friends." Gary said, thinking of the night of his accident, when Emma had said goodbye.

Alan sighed, he had no idea who he was taking to the winter formal dance planned for next weekend. He had to get someone fast though, time was running out. He had been putting this off in his mind for a long time.

"I know you're taking your girl Julius," Gary said, "But who are you taking Alan?"

Alan shrugged, "I don't know yet."

Gary said simply, "So take Melody."

Alan looked up at him in surprise.

"I mean, just as a friend." Gary explained, "She doesn't have a date either."

"Wouldn't Ronnie kill me?" Alan questioned.

"Nah," Julius put in, "He don't hate you that much."

"Besides, you're just going as friends." Gary reminded him.

Alan shrugged, still thinking, "I guess."

Take Melody? He thought. She was a great friend and all, but take her to the dance? Besides, what if she said no?

"Ronnie!" Alan yelled, jogging after the tall blonde teenager in the hall. Ronnie turned around, waiting for Alan to catch up.

"Ronnie, I need to ask you something." Alan said slowly, trying to think up the right words to say this.

"Yes, I don't mind if you take Melody to the dance," Ronnie said before Alan could open his mouth. Alan looked up at him, as if to say, _How did you know what I was going to say_?

Ronnie laughed, "Alan, you told Gary and Julius, they told Rev, who told Blue, who told Petey, and Petey told me," Ronnie explained, clapping the skinnier boy on the shoulder.

"Sure, take Melody, she likes you."

Alan smiled, "Thanks Ronnie!"

Then, the bell rang and each hurried off in different directions to get to their next class. _Great_, Alan thought, _Now all I have to do is ask her. _

Alan slowly tore a piece if paper out of his History notebook, trying to make as little noise as possible. He pulled out a pen, and wrote, very quickly so as not to lose his nerve. He tossed the note onto Melody's desk, watching her reaction as she opened it. Melody read it, smiled, and after writing on it, answered with her own pen. She was handing the note back to him, when Mr. Sanders reached down and lifted the note from Melody's hand.

"Is there something you would like to share with the class Miss Clover and Mr. Bosley?"

Melody looked over at Alan, a smiled still on her face and Alan couldn't help but laugh.

"Perhaps the class would like to hear what funny thing you have written on this note." Mr. Sanders drawled on.

Melody answered, "Sir, I don't think the class would be interested." She kept her face perfectly straight, and Alan had to hold back laughter. He still didn't know what she answered him!

Mr. Sanders read the note, and put it back on Melody's desk, whispering, "Will the two of you coordinate your social calendars on your own time?"

Alan and Melody nodded, both smiling. Then, when Mr. Sanders had turned his back, Melody flipped the note back onto Alan's desk. Alan unfolded the paper and read it.

It said: _Melody, will you go to the Winter Formal with me next Friday? _

Melody had answered, in her loopy handwriting: _Sure Alan! I would love to go with you! _

Alan grinned and Melody smiled back, before turning her attention back to class and writing what Mr. Sanders had just said in his notebook.

Alan was running his hand through his hair, trying to get it to do something besides lay there. Looking in the mirror in the hallway, he realized it wasn't working. He considered using the gel his dad used, to slick it back, when the phone rang. He answered it, and was very surprised to realize it was Melody.

"Hi Alan!" she said cheerily.

"Hi," he answered, wondering why she had called. The dance was in 45 minutes, and he was sure she could've waited that long to tell him something.

"I bet you're wondering why I called," she said. Alan leaned against the wall in the hall, staring into the mirror next to him.

"Well, yeah..." he said honestly.

"I just... umm," Melody trailed off, leaving Alan waiting.

"Melody?" he asked after a long silence.

"Oh, I just wanted to tell you that, um, don't slick your hair back." Her voice faltered for a second. "I mean, you can, but I just wanted to let you know that I think it looks just fine the way you always wear it."

Alan laughed as he looked at his reflection, his eyes dancing. How had Melody known what he was thinking?

"Oh, okay," he answered her, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Melody said, "Oh, I have to go, my mom is begging me to let her do my hair."

"Okay," Alan said simply, "See you later."

"Okay, Bye Alan."

When he had hung up the phone, Alan looked up into the mirror again. _Yeah,_ he thought, _I guess my hair does look okay like this_.

He smiled and walked back into his room. Alan sat on his bed, reached under it and pulled out the shoebox in which he kept his nice shoes. He put the shiny leather shoes on his feet and then reached for a tie to wear. His shirt wasn't all the way buttoned yet, and the collar flopped down when he put the shoebox under the bed. He tried to figure out which tie to wear, and finally decided on a blue one. He didn't notice it was the same color as his eyes.

There was a knock on his door, and then a rough voice called, "Alan."

Alan, knowing it was his dad, said, "come in."

Fred Bosley entered the room, and helped his son to adjust his tie.

"Good," He smiled, "You just go have fun tonight."

Alan nodded, "Yes, sir, I will."

Fred gave his son a hug, "Here, now take the car." He handed him the keys and Alan headed for the door.

"See you."

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate all of them! And i apologize for the long long stretch without updates... I was away! thanks!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Alan took a deep breath, puffing out his cheeks before knocking on the green door of house number 42. He heard a bustle of noise coming from inside, and then, a short, rather plump woman answered the door. She had brown hair, and Alan could tell by her green eyes that she was Melody's mother.

"Hi," she said, holding the door open and ushering Alan inside. "You must be Alan."

Alan nodded, "Hi Mrs. Clover," he said, remembering his manners.

"Come on in, and make yourself comfortable, Melody will just be a second." Mrs. Clover said, rushing up the stairs.

"Kids! Someone go talk with Alan!" she yelled over her shoulder and she disappeared around a corner upstairs.

Alan watched her go, and peeked around the corner into what must have been the living room. There, the room was overflowing with kids, all with brown hair and green eyes. They were perched everywhere, on the arm of the couch, stretched out on the floor.

Alan smiled, almost laughing to himself. He counted the kids slowly and came up with seven. Counting Melody, eight. The Clover's had eight children. Three of them under the age of four. A girl looked over, caught his eye and then whispered to the boy sitting next to him. Slowly, they stood up from watching the TV and walked over to him.

"Hi," the little girl said shyly, coming up next to Alan's arm. "I'm Ruthie."

"Hi Ruthie, I'm Alan," he answered, deciding she must be about eight. Close to Sheryl's age.

The girl was like a miniature copy of Melody. She had curly brown hair and those deep green eyes. When a boy came up too, bearing the same green eyes and the same brown hair, Alan smiled. You would always be able to pick out the Clovers in a crowd.

"Hi, I'm Jimmy." said the boy.

"Hi," Alan answered, waiting.

"Do you want to see my dolls?" Ruthie asked suddenly.

Alan didn't get a chance to think about how to say no without being rude before Jimmy broke in:

"You idiot, he doesn't want to see your dolls." Ruthie made a face and then Jimmy stuck out his tongue. "He's a football player."

Ruthie said, "Yes he does!"

"No he doesn't" Jimmy returned.

"Yes he does!"

"No, wait, how about I see, just one doll?" Alan said, wanting to keep the little girl from letting loose tears she was obviously holding back.

"Alan!" Melody's voice drifted down from upstairs.

"Yeah?" Alan called back.

"Do me a favor and bring me up those green shoes at the bottom of the stairs!" Melody yelled.

"Okay," he said, getting up and taking the shoes upstairs.

While he walked up the steps, he examined the shoes. They had a high heel, and were made of dark green velvet that was smooth to the touch. Alan noticed that he was now by a slightly ajar door, and wondered if it was Melody's door or not.

"Alan? Is that you?" Melody asked, from inside the door.

"Yeah."

"Come on in, dear," Melody's mother invited.

Alan pushed the door open to see Melody's room. It had peach carpet, a nice feather bed, a desk and a set of drawers next to a closet. The curtains and walls were a light blue. It was a pretty room. Melody and her mother were both sitting on the bed, Melody's back was turned to him. Her naturally wavy hair was now curly and falling down her back. Melody's mother turned to face him, reaching her hand out for the shoes. Alan handed them to her.

"Thank you, Alan," she said, with a bit of finality in her voice.

Alan knew that mean he was supposed to go back downstairs now. He did, and waited on the couch for a few more minutes until Mrs. Clover came downstairs. Alan stood up, as young men were always supposed to do when a woman entered the room.

"She'll be just a minute, dear," Mrs. Clover said as she walked through to the kitchen. As Mrs. Clover promised, in a short while, Melody came to the head of the stairs. Alan didn't see her at first, but then he looked up. Alan couldn't help himself from staring. She looked amazing! The dress she was wearing was green, the exact green of her beautiful eyes. It had thin straps on her shoulders, and was tight to the waist down. Then the skirt was made of a different material that was free to movement. Melody smiled at Alan as she stepped off the last step. Her shoe caught on the loose rug on the steps and she fell forward. Luckily, Alan was there to catch her.

"Darn shoes," she whispered, looking up at him. Alan took a deep breath. He just looked at her, thinking, _You look beautiful._

"What?" Melody asked, slowly, watching his face.

Alan remembered that Melody said she could always read his face. He wondered if she could read it now. It had to say, _You look beautiful. So beautiful_. She had better be able to read it, because he couldn't find the words to say it right. Melody just looked at him, not reading his expression.

Alan sighed, whispering, "You look beautiful."

Melody smiled, obviously liking the compliment. Her smile showed her gratitude so there was no need for her to say it. Alan opened up the corsage box that his father had reminded him to take. Alan hadn't even looked at it yet. He grinned when it was no other color than green and white.

"Oh," Melody breathed, "It's wonderful!" Alan grinned sheepishly and helped tie it onto her wrist.

Mrs. Clover came in, "Now, come on you two, get together for a picture." She held up a camera, waiting. Melody turned sideways so that she was facing Alan.

She smiled up at him, whispering, "Sorry, my mom is kind of obsessed with pictures and things."

Alan grinned back and then both looked at the camera.

---

-Alan laughed with the rest of the group around him. Everyone at the dance was enjoying themselves very much. He was very relieved to notice that even though Ronnie had a date, he was still very friendly with Melody, and there was no tension between the two of them. Emma was sitting in a chair next to Gary, who was in his wheelchair.

A photographer came by, "Let's get a picture of you kids!" he said.

They all leaned in around Gary and Emma. Alan and Melody were standing behind them, along with The Rev and his date. Julius and his girlfriend stood next to them on one side, and Ronnie and his date stood on the other. Seeing their friends posing for a picture, more of the football team, including Petey, Louie and Blue, rushed over, trailing their dates.

"Smile!" the photographer instructed them all. They all did smile and then they hung around, all talking and joking.

A slow song came onto the speakers. Nearly everyone took their date out onto the dance floor. Alan didn't move. He noticed that Gary and Emma couldn't dance, and had to sit on the sidelines watching everyone else. Melody met his eyes and nodded. She had been thinking the same thing. Both walked over to Gary and Emma, pulling up a chair.

"Hey," Alan greeted them.

"Hi," Emma said, then, she turned to Gary, "I'm going to go to the bathroom, I'll be back in a minute."

Gary nodded, "Okay." He smiled widely at Alan and Melody. "This is some great dance, huh?"

Alan smiled back. It was so like Gary to act like it was just a normal thing. He was trying to act like he didn't care that he couldn't dance. Alan admired him all the more for this attitude. As they talked, two people walked up to them. It was obviously a guy and his date.

"I would tell you to dance with Gary here," the young man said, "But, um, you need to use legs to dance so..." The guy and his date laughed hysterically.

Alan stared at them. He felt like punching that guy out, but decided he wouldn't, just because he didn't want to ruin the dance. Gary was obviously angry, he looked like he would've killed that guy right then. Melody, her face twisted with rage, ran up to the guy and slapped him hard across the face.

The guy, surprised, hit her back, hard. Melody fell to the floor, holding her face.

Alan, angrier than before and shocked that the guy had hit a girl, stood up and punched the guy hard in the face. The guy held his nose for a moment, squeezing his eyes tight in pain, then, with a punch, he shoved Alan out the double doors in the back of the gym. Alan stumbled backwards, and lost his balance. He rolled down the long flight of stone stairs. After a long roll of bumping and scraping, and hearing a little torn material, Alan landed, face down on a stair. He wished everything had gone black and he had gone unconscious because then, he wouldn't have to deal with the pain, especially in his nose.

After a moment of lying there, he heard footsteps that sounded like high heels.

"Oh my gosh Alan!" he recognized the voice instantly as Melody's. She came over and knelt beside him, turning him onto his back. came over and knelt beside him, turning him onto his back.

"Oh, are you okay?" she sighed, her face stricken with worry.

Alan nodded, "I think so." He tried to sit up, but his head spun and felt like it weighed a ton. He lay back down. Melody took his head in her lap to help it from hurting. Then, to his disgust, his aching nose started to bleed. Melody pulled out a handkerchief and held it under his nose.

"Thank you," she whispered, her face close to his. Her long hair fell around her face, and around Alan's too. Even though he was full of pain, having Melody's face so close to him drove him crazy. He could smell her sweet shampoo and he smiled before his head started pounding again.

"No problem," he whispered, closing his eyes to try to stop the headache he had.

She stroked his cheek, "You're such a good friend to me."

Alan nodded, opening his eyes, but when he did, her face swirled around in front of him. He grimaced and closed his eyes again. Melody pushed some of his hair out of his eyes. Alan felt comforted at her touch. He sighed and leaned harder against Melody, his head completely limp in her lap.

"Alan?" They heard Gary Bertier yell down the stairs.

"He's okay," Melody returned, holding Alan's head steady. "He'll be just fine."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Alan lay awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling above him. He wondered how many kids from T. C. Williams came home from the dance that night and stared up at the ceiling. Then he wondered how many people in this town were looking at ceilings. And what about the state? And the country? And the world? Why did people look at ceilings anyway? He looked up to clear his emotions, without having anything to distract him. The ceiling was plain, blank, bare. Nothing interesting about it. Yet, it probably still got more attention than the colorful walls or the fuzzy carpets.

Tonight had been an eventful night. When Alan had recovered enough, he drove Melody home, and despite how disfigured he must have looked, she had given him a kiss on the cheek and a long, tight hug, whispering, "I had a great time, Thanks Alan."

Alan remembered that part clearly. He remembered the scent of her, and the feeling of warmth she somehow gave off to him. He had wanted to hold her for a long time. He found himself picturing Melody and him, holding each other... being with each other... Thinking about this, Alan became unusually happy. He had been happy all night, even when he was injured. The only other times he felt like this was... he gasped as he realized the finishing part of his sentence. He was this happy whenever he was with Melody.

He liked Melody, a lot. He loved seeing her in the halls and only saying a few words, but knowing that she understood. He loved stretching with her after football practice, when the cool wind whipped her hair around her face. But what he really loved, was when she laughed. When she threw back her head, her face broke into a smile as bright as a sunrise, and really laughed. He really liked that.

---

"I like her Gary," Alan said suddenly. He was sitting on Gary's front porch, visiting with him.

"You like who?" Gary asked, looking at Alan a little strangely. They had been talking about the game the Titans had played to get second place in the National championships and Alan just popped out with this.

"Melody," Alan whispered. He stopped and looked up, "I just like being with her, or talking to her, it makes me happy." A dreamy look crossed Alan's face before he looked up to see Gary's reaction. "You know?"

Gary nodded, "Yup." He paused for a moment, "You know, from when you and Melody first met, I thought something was going to go on between you. But then, Sunshine came in..." Gary didn't finish his sentence, didn't need to.

Alan understood. Ronnie had come and melted Melody's heart, just like he melted all the other girls too. It made Alan jealous and angry for a second, but he put the feeling away. He couldn't blame Ronnie for Melody liking him.

"You should ask her out Alan," Gary said simply, after he had watched conflicting emotions pass over his friends face.

"Ask who out?" Asked a bright, cheery voice.

Alan and Gary both jerked their heads up to see Melody standing there, with a big poster board under her arms. She was wearing a plain blue skirt with a white shirt, and her long curly hair had been pulled into a simple pony tail that hung down her back. Alan smiled to himself, she could look beautiful anyway she wanted too.

"Oh, no one." Alan lied, looking away as Melody smiled like she didn't believe him.

"Anyway," she sighed, breaking the silence that followed Alan's remark, "look, I made this."

She turned the poster board she was carrying around, and revealed a huge, bright, colorful collage. Alan and Gary grinned, looking at it with great interest. Melody had taken many many pictures of the guys on the football team, and this was what those pictures had become. She had blended all the faces together to form an extremely impressive and artistic collage.

Alan picked out pictures of the team in motion during games, during practice, and just goofing off. He saw one of Ronnie tossing Alan over his shoulder and carrying him away. Alan smiled at that. The greatest picture though, was one of Julius's and Gary's hands, meeting in the center of the board, shaking, the dark of Julius's skin against the white of Gary's. This was what their team was all about, the colors meeting, the compromise of a war that had been being fought for a long time.

Alan looked at the pictures with glee. One showed Ronnie, Petey and Blue, sitting on the bench together, all wearing the same expression, worry about the game. Another part of the board had the silhouettes of some team members as they did the warm ups. Melody had cut out the bodies of them doing up down and arranged them so they formed a huge pyramid and Sheryl, happy and smiling was standing at the top with her hands on her hips.

"This is great stuff Mel!" Gary praised, looking up at her.

"Thank you. I thought we could hang it up in the school." She said slowly. "Alan, what do you think?" She bent down beside him, looking with him.

"It fantastic," he breathed, "You made us look like we were such a together team. We all look real close."

"I made you look like that, Alan?" she asked, amazed at his words. "You got to be kiddin' me. I didn't do anything but take a pair of scissors and glue and put you guys in pieces on this board."

She pointed to the facial expressions on the board. "See that? I didn't do that, you guys did. And that's what makes you a team."

When Alan just gave her a some-what blank look, she searched the board until she found a certain picture.

"Look," she whispered. Alan followed her finger to a picture of himself, Blue, Ronnie, Gary, Julius, Petey, Rev and Louie. They were all walking together, laughing. Louie had just clapped Rev on the arm. Blue was singing. Petey, himself, and Ronnie were just goofing off. Gary and Julius were looking right at each other, trust in their eyes.

"What do you see in this picture?" Melody asked.

Alan didn't answer.

"Trust, love, friendship. That's what you guys had, still have." She shook her head, as if to laugh at his foolishness, "I didn't do anything Alan. Your team did it all."

Gary nodded, thinking Melody was smarter than anyone thought she was. The team had trusted each other, and the feelings between them were great. Alan nodded too, understanding what Melody was saying.

"You're right." He whispered.

"'Course I am!" Melody smiled teasingly. She stood up and started walking to her car.

"Anyway," she explained, "I just wanted to show you guys this before I hang it up in the school. See you later!" With that she walked away, Alan watching her body move in a rhythmic motion.

"Alan," Gary said quietly after Melody had gotten into her car and driven away with a wave, "You have to tell her how you feel. Tonight, at the end of season banquet."

Alan nodded, "Yeah, okay." He said, but he knew he would never work up the nerve to tell her. Melody would never go out with him.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14  
  
"Tell her now, Alan," Gary growled, as he walked past the table Alan was seated at. Alan looked at him stupidly. Gary popped his eyes out, and jerked his head in the direction of Melody, who was seated at the same table, with Ronnie, Blue, Julius, The Rev, Petey and Louie.

Alan, getting the idea, shook his head slightly.

Gary gave him a look that said, "why not?"

Alan said, quietly, and embarrassedly, "Shewontsayyes."

"What?" Gary asked, leaning in closely.

"She won't say yes," Alan repeated.

"How do you know?" Gary questioned, "Go ask, man,"

Alan walked over to where Melody was sitting. Taking a nervous gulp of air, he cleared his throat and asked:

"Melody, can I talk to you?" while he leaned down next to her ear so only she could hear.

"Yeah," Melody, smiled up at him, getting out of her chair. She followed him outside, still smiling.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about Alan?" She asked, leaning on the railing around the steps they were on top of.

"umm.." Alan couldn't say it. "I..., I was wondering if..." he trailed off.

"What is it?" she asked kindly, looking at him expectantly. When he didn't say anything, she said, "Come on Alan, you know you can tell me."

Alan looked her over. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress, perfect looking. Her eyes were twinkling, and she looked so happy. He sighed, she was so beautiful.

"Alan?" she whispered, taking a step closer to him, "Alan, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he answered, smiling, "nothing."

Melody smiled in relief, "Good! I thought some disaster had happened for a minute there."

Alan smiled back weakly. He knew he had to ask. He couldn't hold in his feelings forever, and he had to know if she liked him back.

"Melody," he said, getting ready to blurt out what he was going to say, "Will you go out with me?"

Melody stared at him. For a second, Alan thought she was going to say yes, but then, her face fell. He knew she was refusing him.

"Oh Alan," she sighed, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Alan shook her off. Suddenly, he was mad. He was mad at himself, mad at her, mad at Gary for encouraging him to ask her out, mad at everything.

"Don't, oh Alan me," he muttered, avoiding looking at her.

"Alan, I like you as a friend, but... but not like that," she said sympathetically.

"I should've known," he said angrily.

"What do you mean?" she asked, touching him again on the shoulder.

He wrenched away, "I should've known you wouldn't want to go out with me." He said, not sure why he was opening up to her, "I mean, you had Ronnie, why settle for something less than him?"

"Alan," she moaned, "You are not less than him!" she exclaimed, trying to talk to him.

"Really?" Alan asked, face screwed up in anger, eyes flashing. "Then how come you went out with him. But not me."

Melody looked at him in surprise, "Alan, I never..."

"You never what?" he asked, "Never considered me? Did you think you were better than me?"

"Alan!" she yelled, emotions catching in her face. Her voice sounded choked, "Alan what are you saying?" Her pained eyes bored into him. Alan hardened his heart and glared back at her.  
  
"Alan I never ever thought I was better than you!" she tried to explain, "You're my friend, but that's all."

Alan ignored her, "look, just because I'm not as good-looking as Ronnie..."

"That isn't what this is about!" she cried, tears slipping down her face. The wind flung her hair into her face. "Did you think I was that shallow? That I could possibly..."

Alan didn't answer. Suddenly the anger was gone and he was just... emotionless.

Melody stared at him, biting her lip, "You don't know me at all."

She turned and started to walk away. Halfway to the gym doors, about to enter where the banquet was taking place, she paused.

"I'm sorry Alan. I like you as a friend, and I didn't mean to hurt you."

Alan watched her walk away. Then, he turned on his heel, and walked towards his car.

----

Melody ran up into her room, tears in her eyes. She wrenched off the dress she was wearing, and threw it on a chair. In only her underclothes, she broke down crying on the bed. The words Alan had said were still fresh in her mind. He had been so mean, so heartless, so cold. So unlike the Alan she knew. And his eyes. His eyes had been so icy, so unfeeling. It had scared her. She never wanted to see his eyes like that again. What had caused all that?

She still couldn't believe he had asked her out. The thought was scary, she didn't like Alan like that. He was just one of her good friends, very good friends. The truth was, since Ronnie, she hadn't thought of anyone as anything more than a friend. The breakup with him had hurt her, and she wasn't ready for a new boyfriend. She wrapped herself up in a bathrobe, and went to the bathroom to remove her makeup. She found the bathroom occupied by one of her younger brothers.

"Get out!" she growled at him, not wanting to deal with anyone. "I need to use the bathroom!"

"Jeez, who bit you..." Marcus, the young boy complained.

Melody slammed the door behind him, washing off her face. As she brushed her teeth, she remembered something Alan had once said to her.

"You want a guy who will hold you around the waist just to smell your hair. Or hold your hair back for you while you brush your teeth."

She smiled at that thought. Alan had told her these things after she had broken up with Ronnie.

A memory flooded into her brain. After football practices, they had fallen into the habit of Melody waiting outside while Alan showered, and then the two of them walking home. On this particular day, Alan had emerged from the locker room to find Melody crying. He had wiped away her tears, well tried too. He had told her about the kind of guy she wanted to date, not Ronnie.

But the tears had kept flowing until, finally, he gave up and held her in his arms. Melody remembered the sense of warmth and comfort she had felt wrapped up in Alan's warm embrace. She had felt so protected, like nothing in the world could ever hurt her. Thinking about it, she hadn't felt that way with anyone before. Not even when she hugged Ronnie, or kissed him.

What did this mean? Did she like Alan? Melody sighed, looking at her reflection. _Do you like him? _She questioned herself silently. _Do you?_ She considered the feelings she got whenever she was with Alan. She was... happy, was the only way to describe it. She had fun with him, he made her laugh. She always loved to wipe his bangs out of his face. He always needed a haircut, but never got one, giving him the resemblance of an adorable shaggy puppy. Especially when he gave her this look, this look that just told her she was important.

Melody sighed, what she really liked about Alan was how he made her laugh. He made her laugh so hard, so often it was hard not to smile just thinking about him. He would do crazy things, say odd things, just about anything to make her smile. He was always there for her. Jeez, why hadn't she noticed it before? Thinking of it now that she knew Alan liked her, it seemed so obvious.

Suddenly, it all came clear. The way she felt with him, everything about him. _I like him_. She thought. _I like Alan. I like him so much_. She couldn't control it anymore, she had to tell him, soon. In the morning. She wanted to see his smiling face again, his happy, sparkling eyes. She walked slowly into her room, waiting for the morning.

---

Alan drove home, his hands tight on the wheel. He was still angry, but also upset at himself. The things he had said about Melody weren't true at all, in fact the thoughts hadn't even crossed his mind until he blurted them out to her. He saw that what he said had really hurt her, she had started crying. He sighed, and thought about her for a minute. Jeez, why couldn't she have said yes? Why didn't she like him? He rubbed his head with his hand.

When he looked up again, he saw another car, heading straight towards him. Alan jerked the wheel to the right, trying to swerve. His car didn't swerve fast enough. The other car, a blue camero, plowed into the side of his car. Alan hit his head on the window and everything faded, getting hazy until the world went black.

---

only one more chapter left! And I apologize for the cliffhanger.... but hey... I can't help it, it draws you in! (besides, im updating the next chapter right now anyway so im not that mean!)


	15. Chapter 15 the last chapter!

Chapter 15

Melody woke up to hear the sound of the TV raging from downstairs. Shrill sirens and cracking static filled her ears. Seeing that all the doors in the hallway were opened, she figured all her family was downstairs. She came downstairs, and into the living room. Her whole family looked up at her, her mother's breath catching in her throat.

Her hands came up to cover her mouth as she gasped, "Oh, honey..."

Melody stared at the screen. She saw a huge wreck between two cars. One was a green station wagon, the other a blue camero. Melody gasped, Alan's car was a blue camero. That car was all beat up and from it they pulled a body.

The reporter on the screen said, "Live on Apple Street."

Without looking at anyone in her family Melody grabbed a sweatshirt off the coat rack and ran out the door inot the pouring rain. Her heart caught in her throat as she raced down the streets in the town. She passed the post office and Clancy's bar. At the Methodist Church, she skidded to a halt and ran to the right, down Apple Street.

As she came closer, she heard loud sirens and saw many cars. As she neared the sight, alight with the red and blue of the police's swirling lights, she saw an ambulance pull away. Tears streamed out her eyes, she was too late.

She was soaked through by the rain, and the scene around her looked grim now. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Slowly, she turned around. Melody gasped in surprise as she saw who the hand belonged to.

"Alan?" she whispered. "Wasn't that... weren't you..." She stuttered thought her words. _Hadn't he been in the ambulance? Was he an angel?_

"No," he said comfortingly, "No Melody, I wasn't in there."

"But... your car... the camero!" She cried, tears clouding her vision. She held Alan's arms tightly, as if to keep him there, alive.

"I took my dad's car tonight," Alan explained, his blue eyes shining in his pain at seeing her upset.

"Oh God," Melody sobbed, burying her face in her hands, "oh thank God." Tears and cold combined were making her body shake.

"It's okay Melody, I'm okay," he said, worried about her, she looked so miserable. "And the other guy will be fine in a couple of days." He added, hoping to cheer her up.

"I thought you died." Melody said simply, not looking at him.

Alan didn't say anything. What was he supposed to say? He did the only thing that made sense just then, he pulled Melody's body towards him. He was surprised to feel her collapse against him, leaving no space between their bodies. She wept into his shoulder.

"God Alan, God, you're alive," she gasped as she sniffed, trying to stop her tears.

"Yeah," he breathed, his lips brushing her hair as he rubbed her back, "And it's okay."

Melody just cried. Alan knew something was wrong with her. For the time being, he had forgotten that he had been angry at her earlier that evening, and that she had refused him. He just knew that he loved holding her, and he wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize this moment.

That car crash had woken him up. If Melody didn't want to date him, he would still be her friend because there was no way he was going to miss out on her great personality. She had given his life spice, and he wanted to keep it that way. Melody's body shivered with chills. Alan released her from his arms and took off his jacket, wrapping it around her. She smiled up thankfully.

"Thanks Alan. You do so much for me," she smiled, trying to put more meaning into the words than just a coat.

"No problem," Alan smiled down at her and his eyes visibly shone with love. Melody sighed, leaning against him again. She loved those eyes for always betraying his feelings. Looking up, she knew that he loved her. She wrapped her arm's around his neck, which surprised him. Slowly, he put his hands on her back. After a second of smelling the soapy smell of Alan, she pulled back. She was ready to tell him.

"Alan," she said, staring into his eyes, "Can I take back something I said before?"

Alan, not fully understanding said, "Yeah sure," he said softly, "anything."

"I want to say yes to something you said before."

Alan's breath stopped for a minute. Was she taking back what she thought he was taking back? Was she saying yes to being his girlfriend? He looked down into her amazing face and her deep green eyes. He hoped so. He really hoped so.

"Alan, I like you." Melody said, watching his beautiful eyes for his reaction. "I don't mean talk to you sometimes like you, but I want to be with you. You make me happy, all the time. You make me smile and I feel the best around you."

She paused. Alan's face was gorgeously bright. He was so happy, his eyes looked like they might overflow.

"I think I might be in love with you Alan." Melody finished, "And I would hope that you are in love with me too."

Alan was so happy! She was saying exactly what he had been longing to hear! She wanted to be with him. He knew that she had to love him. How could she not when he loved her so much? He smiled down at her.

"I've been waiting to hear you say that." He sighed, holding her close to him.

Melody leaned against him for a minute before she looked up at his face. Their eyes met. Alan smiled and leaned his head in closer. He tilted his head to the side, getting closer to Melody's face. He could feel her breath on his face. He pressed his lips against hers.

He felt amazing! He was hot up by his lips and cold wherever Melody wasn't touching him, making him shiver. He held her close as the kiss ended by both of them closing their lips over the other. Alan drew back, and they both smiled at each other.

"C' mon," Alan said, wrapping an arm around Melody and walking away, "Let's get you home."

Together, they walked off, hand in hand, in step with each other, laughing and smiling through the wet dreary weather. As they walked off, looking into the sky, they saw the sun begin to rise. _Rising on a new day_. Alan thought, _A great new day!_  
  
The End


End file.
